Who We Are

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Founded in 2024 by Harley Kimball and Ariel Garcia, Bug Bounty Village is the gathering place for the global bug bounty community at DEF CON - a space built by hackers, for hackers, where vulnerability researchers, bounty hunters, and the companies that run bug bounty programs come together under one roof.

 

​We exist because bug bounty hunting has grown from a niche hobby into a legitimate profession, with thousands of researchers around the world now doing this work full time. Bug Bounty Village is where that community gets to be a community: to swap techniques, celebrate wins, learn from each other, and connect face to face.

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What We Do

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Talks & Workshops - High-energy sessions from experienced bug bounty hunters covering everything from the fundamentals of getting your first report accepted to advanced techniques for finding and exploiting vulnerabilities in modern systems.

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Live CTF & Competitions - A custom capture-the-flag competition and live hacking challenges that put your skills to the test against other researchers in real time. Our 2025 CTF drew over 750 participants.

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Hands-On Training - Practical, tool-based sessions — from setting up your testing environment to working hands-on with tools like Burp Suite — designed to take you from theory to practice.

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Program Guidance - Company representatives join us to talk through what it actually takes to stand up and run a bug bounty program, giving both sides of the bounty relationship a place to compare notes.

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Community & Swag - Challenge coins, electronic badges, and plenty of opportunities to meet prolific hunters and rising researchers alike.

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Who It's For

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Everyone. Whether you're writing your first vulnerability report or you've spent years chasing critical exploits, Bug Bounty Village is built to meet you where you are. A working knowledge of web protocols and basic scripting will help you get the most out of the hands-on activities and CTF, but curiosity and a willingness to learn are the only real requirements.

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Join Us at DEF CON

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Come find us at DEF CON - bring a laptop set up for the secure conference Wi-Fi, and come ready to learn, compete, and connect. Follow us for schedules, speaker announcements, and CTF details as the next event approaches.